Economics

LEVEL: A Level – Linear

EXAM BOARD: Edexcel

WHY CHOOSE ECONOMICS?

Economics is the right subject for you if you enjoy debating economic issues such as inequality, immigration and how we should pay for healthcare; using and interpreting data to analyse economic problems; discussing alternative courses of action; keeping up to date with national and international trends.

It is a great time to study economics. So many of the most important decisions facing society are based on economic issues. Whether you are concerned with global warming or global trade, whether you are looking at the collapse of world financial markets or the collapse of a local small business, you can’t get far without knowledge of economics. This course aims to stimulate your interest in how economies work – at personal, national and world levels.

Just some of the issues you will be encouraged to investigate are:

“Why has the UK economy experienced both boom conditions and slumps in the past?”, “What determines the level of UK interest rates?”, “Is a strong pound desirable?”, “Why are footballers paid more than nurses?”, “What are the implications of a national minimum wage?”

AIMS OF THE COURSE

You will be able to demonstrate and apply knowledge and understanding in order to analyse economic problems and issues. Evaluate economic arguments and evidence to make informed judgements.

WHAT WILL I STUDY?

You may not have come across economics before. It is an exciting and relevant subject that is useful in the workplace. If you are interested in current affairs and how the economy works, this is the subject for you.

Theme 1 Competitive Markets — How They Work; Why They Fail. For example, how do we solve the economic problem by producing goods and services? We have an insatiable desire to consume more than we produce, so we have to ration our scarce resources. We do this through wealth and prices. The system works well when producing consumer goods but not so well when we think about things like street lights, health or defence. In such cases we might need government intervention to help to correct the market.

Theme 2 Managing the Economy. This examines issues such as unemployment, inflation, the balance of payments and economic growth and what can make them better or worse. We look at the government’s budget and ask questions like… “Is it right to be worried about reducing the budget deficit in a time of recession?”

Theme 3 Business Economics and Economic Efficiency – this looks more closely at firms and how they operate. How do we work out how much we get paid? You will study things like mergers, efficiency, diminishing returns and business activity from the point of view of society rather than just profit calculations.

Theme 4 The Global Economy – You will study issues like… Can we continue to buy more from the rest of the world than we sell to it? Are we trying to sustain an unsustainable lifestyle? Can models help us predict the economic future? If so why didn’t we predict the credit crunch?

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?

Paper 1 – Themes 1 and 3 – 2 hrs

Paper 2 – Themes 2 and 4 – 2 hrs

Paper 3 – All themes – 2 hrs

WHERE CAN IT LEAD?

Economics is a subject which is well respected and recognised for the analytical, data interpretation and essay writing skills that it requires. An A Level in Economics can lead to further study in several areas and is specifically suitable and relevant to careers in Accounting, Business, Management, Insurance and Economic forecasting and analysis.